What's on Your Mind?

Please share your thoughts with us!  

Our ongoing survey is a way to stay in touch with you.  Please let us know how you are doing in this survey and we'll respond in the next issue of our newsletter or in person.

It's good to be in touch with you!

Your Story

I ran into a former client at Starbucks today. When we started work together she was overworked, overwhelmed and at the end of her rope.

I didn’t know the result of our coaching and it was wonderful to hear her story: she took a sabbatical from her job, came back with a proposal for part time work, was refused, and then found exactly what she wanted elsewhere.

The story gets better. The original organization has since approached her to return – with a promotion and a part time schedule. Negotiations ensued where she made clear she didn’t want to be their top sales person anymore and she wanted to be more involved in running the organization. In the end, she got exactly what she wanted plus part ownership in the business.

My client shared that she still has the IAM tools on her desk and now she’d like to bring me and the IAM methodology into her new organization. What a great opportunity! Most importantly, I’m thrilled that this client so successfully transformed her life!

Getting Personal

In our group of 6 Collaborators and Associates, it has been interesting to discover that we have diverse political leanings. This discovery was encouraging; I see honoring different perspectives as critical to the IAM work!

I (Karen) am a liberal/moderate who votes for issues, not along party lines. Coming from a family of conservatives I’ve worked to respect and honor many points of view. As I recoiled with concern about many of George W. Bush’s decisions and actions, I also strove to love the man and to see ‘how he’s working for me’.

So it was surprising to read Lorraine’s article and find myself wondering if I wanted George and Sarah’s pictures in our newsletter! Yes I decided, because they’ve been working for us all!

Yet I couldn’t imagine this issue going out without Barack’s and Joe’s images in here as well. I am so excited about our future and how our work with IAM supports the vision the Democrats have described. Here’s to hope for the future! Here’s to focusing on what we want to create. Here’s to participating in that "creating" - any way we want! Here’s to Barak and Joe:

What's New

I spent the week before the election in New York City at a Continuum Movement workshop with the creator of the practice Emilie Conrad. What a transformational experience!

More and more I’m finding the parallels between body work, dynamic exercise and organizational development to be inspiring. Think about it: if we see an organization as a living, breathing organism like the human body, we could learn a lot about how to grow and maintain a healthy business from the body.

For example, stress creates compression in the body. Breath and gentle movement, motivated by personal meaning and relevance (I want to relieve this pain), allows the body to bring the necessary nutrients and information needed to ‘heal’ areas of tension.

Said another way, change creates contraction in an organization. Access to new information and action, motivated by collective meaning and business relevance, allows the organization to receive the necessary ideas and resources needed to respond to the change.

During the workshop, my mind exploded with ideas. I’ve captured some of my initial thoughts here in what I can only call a ‘brain dump'. More coherent writings are coming!

Communications Corner

The Communications Corner Column is currently on hold as we develop the material for our communications skills workshop.

In the meantime, we would still love to hear from you and learn of your communications celebrations and challenges.  So, please, share your communications thoughts with us here and we'll be back in touch with them in the Winter.

Call To Being

A call to being is an opportunity to connect more deeply with the aliveness and possibility that has been awakened in you by reading this newsletter.

In pushing this button, we invite you to the "other side" to clarify intentions, launch them into your larger Life, and open to the delightful certainty that you will be met.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you want to build a ship, don't 

herd people together to collect

wood and don't assign them tasks 

and work, but rather teach them to

long for the endless immensity of

the sea.

        ~~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The big challenge is to become 

all that you have the possibility 

of becoming. You cannot believe

what it does to the human spirit to

maximize your human potential

and stretch yourself to the limit.

                              ~~ Jim Rohn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anchoring in Essence

November 2008 begins the second annual cycle of our IAM newsletter. We begin anew writing about individuals and organizations being their Essential Best through the lenses of the Essence Map, Energy Map and Navigational Compass.

This issue, about Anchoring in Essence, explores how we use the IAM Touchstones to quickly and easily remember what is Essential both personally and as a collective.

Table of Contents

Stop the Insanity and Lighten Up 
Taking a Stand for Outrageous Happiness, Effectiveness and Productivity.

Using the IAM Touchstones to Anchor in Essence

Stop the Insanity and Lighten Up
Taking a Stand for Outrageous Happiness, Effectiveness and Productivity - by Karen Tax

The IAM Touchstones were born out of chaos within the KT&A group at a time when we spiraled out of our Essential Best into Drama. As I watched myself and others become bogged down as if slogging through mud, I reached a point of being done with the insanity:

·   ready to clear out the Drama with a fire hose,

·   ready to have lighter, more playful conversations,

·   ready to experience more happiness, effectiveness and

   productivity.

Being done meant that it was time for me to take greater responsibility for what I wanted to experience and to take a stand for the process and quality of the IAM work.

I wanted to joyfully mine Drama for nuggets of critical learning and to glean, in the process, how to help others do likewise. The Touchstones were what I was using in my work with John Breckenridge to quickly and easily play with Drama and anchor in my Essence. They are currently documented as:

IAM Touchstones - Summary

 

1.    My Purpose is to Be My Best

2.    I Can’t Be Bad

3.    I Am 100% Responsible

4.    I Come First

5.    We’re Always Working For Each Other

6.    Play Everyday

We at KT&A are now using the Touchstones together and with clients to create the glowing and flowing experiences we want – to anchor our work in our Essential Best.

For example, when Lorraine, Diane and I discussed continuing the newsletter for another year, we talked about what would make it worthwhile if no one ever read what we wrote (I Come First), what would make the process joyful (Play Everyday), what areas we were having difficulty stepping into (Be My Best), and what results we wanted to create with readers (100% responsibility).

The result:

·    An overall newsletter theme for the year: Inviting your

   Essential Best to shine, where ever you are, like never

   before!

·   New monthly author themes:

 

   o    Karen: Stop the Insanity and Lighten Up

   o    Lorraine: Yes, I Am Brilliant

   o    Diane: I’ve Got Something To Say

 

·   And Lisa Negstad will be joining our group of authors in

   December with her theme: Why Can’t I Just Go It Alone?

·  We are feeling happier, more effective and collectively

   productive in our work.

We are available to talk with you and your organization about the IAM Touchstones and how they help you Focus On The Essential – when you can’t afford the cost of Drama.

I Have Something to Say
Let Your Light Shine - by Diane Craver

Karen, Lorraine & I were discussing our newsletter themes for the next year, and we came up with “I Have Something to Say,” for me. Speaking up has been a challenge for me in certain areas of my life. Perhaps you have experienced or are experiencing this challenge as well -- speaking up and bringing your light, i.e. your unique gifts or talents, into the world.

There’s a song I sang as a child in Sunday school called, “This Little Light of Mine.” It goes like this: “This little light of mine. I’m going to let it shine. Hide it under a bushel? No, I’m going to let it shine. Let it shine, let it shine, shine, shine.”

As a child, I took that song to heart. My light shined brightly. I was frequently described as spunky, witty, smart, entertaining, and outspoken. I never shied away from saying what I thought or asked for what I wanted – sometimes I even demanded it!

Somewhere along the way my light started to dim. I got ‘smacked down’ a few times, so I stopped speaking up, preferring to stay in the background. I became adept at keeping the peace, not wanting to make trouble. I chose to hide behind or elevate others, fearing exposure of incompetence or that people wouldn’t like me. If I had an issue with someone, I was afraid to speak up – it was easier to tell someone else. Life seemed easier this way – don’t make waves!  

A few years ago, after I quit my job, I literally lost my voice for 2 weeks – not even a whisper. I decided this was a metaphor for what was happening to me, and something needed to change – I needed to ‘amp up’ the brightness in my life. So, I decided to focus on ways to show up bigger. My acronym for BIG is Believe In Greatness – our greatness and others’ greatness. When we expect the very best from ourselves and others, we all show up bigger! 

What do we seem to be reading about more and more these days? Lack of leadership is top of mind for me. I propose that we STOP LOOKING for great leaders and start BEING great leaders of our lives. Think you’re not a leader? If you influence one person, you are a leader.

Will you join me in letting your light shine and claim full responsibility for your life?

 

Yes, I AM Brilliant
Something We Can Learn From President Bush and Sarah Palin 

I just got off the phone with a new great friend by the name of Debra Poneman. She’s the author of “Chicken Soup for The American Idol”. I was introduced to Debra through Janet Attwood, The Passion Test who was a recent guest on Compelling Conversations for Powerfull Living.

Debra will be my guest on November 13 and we got into this great conversation about finding something good in people who push your buttons. In other words, how different people serve us to learn things about ourselves that we might not always like to discover.

Sarah Palin and President Bush came up in the conversation. Now, I don’t want to engage in a political commentary here because we all have different viewpoints. In a recent blog post I wrote about how I looked at George Bush as someone who has stood his ground in what he believes in despite the negative public reactions. Over the years, he has been unwavering in his position for a number of reasons. I really think he believes everything he says. 

The question I ask myself in looking at President Bush is, “What do I stand for? What am I willing to show up and fight for no matter what people think?  How far would I go to fearlessly, unwaveringly, and solidly stand in my truth and brilliance?

How about Sarah Palin? Look at the pokes she’s taking and she keeps smiling and saying what’s on her mind. She’s fearless and relentless in speaking her truth to millions of people worldwide! She doesn’t care what people think or say about her. She’s speaking up to anyone who will listen.

How often do you speak your mind or do you silence yourself for fear of ramifications?

How committed are you in speaking your truth regardless of other people’s opinions or reactions?

How do you deal with people’s upset and displeasure with you?

How authentic are you in your business and personal relationships?

Where are you fearless?

Aside from my personal opinions of either President Bush or Sarah Palin, which aren’t very high, there’s something to be learned from both of them that I can respect and admire. They both take a stand for what they believe in and won’t allow anyone to silence them. To me, that takes courage and tenacity too!

The people who bring out the strongest emotions in us are some of our greatest teachers! Our reactions, positive or negative, alert us to look at something within ourselves that we are ignoring or denying.

How about you? Who pushes your buttons and what can you learn from them about yourself?